Hair waving lotion



United States Patent 3,240,672 HAIR WAVHNG LOTION Milton G. Eckstrom, 3712, Rte. 2, Hastings, Minn. No Drawing. Filed Dec. 28, 1961, Ser. No. 162,973 7 Claims. (Cl. 16787.1)

This invention relates to hair waving and particularly to reducing lotions for waving bleached hair.

I have found that a waving lotion comprising one or more dior tri-lower alkanol amines and a plurality of their salts, one of which is a mercaptan, combined with a lower aliphatic polyhydric alcohol is effective to wave hair so degraded by prior bleaching as to be unwavable by any prior lotions of which I am aware.

There is a wide variety of hair which could be termed broadly bleached hair, varying from the slight lightening caused by sunlight to the extreme silver blondes in which the pigment is essentially completely destroyed. Between these extremes is an entire spectrum of reddishto golden-blondes. The increase in porosity, increase in rubberiness and decrease in Hookean elasticity which characterize a degraded hair fiber varies directly with the extent of bleaching.

The present invention is primarily concerned with waving the most extreme silver or platinum (highly bleached) hair tresses. The processes by which the pigment was destroyed in these highly bleached hair fibers involved the use of high pH alkalies and strong, reactive oxidizing agents. Not only was the hair subjected to this treatment in the original bleaching, but the regrowth of the hair was also usually bleached at relatively frequent intervals. Although the touch-up bleaching of new growth is directed only at the new hair, there frequently is accidental overlapping and intentional full-strand overlapping to try to make the colorization uniform. Also, practically all silver blonde hair is toned with a peroxideactivated color, which additionally attacks the hair as a fiber.

The seriousness of the difliculty of waving such fragile material as silver blonde hair is so great that many beauticians will not try to give a permanent to such hair. This is the problem which has been overcome by the present invention.

The use of conventional lotions, such as ammonium thioglycolate or the like, in the permanent Waving of bleached hair presents problems of over-processing the hair and hair breakage, due, apparently, to excessive penetration and swelling of bleached hair by such lotions. It is the common practice to try to avoid the difiiculties by dilution of the waving lotion either directly by the addition of water or indirectly, using normal strength lotions, by first wetting the hair with water rather than waving lotion preparatory to winding, and then applying the lotion to the wound, water-wet tress. Such expedients have the necessary consequence of lessening the reducing action of the lotion to the point frequently of inadequate waving, especially of fine hair, with the alternative hazard of not adequately decreasing the harmful action of the lotion, as above referred to.

In my prior copending application Serial No. 627,120 filed December 10, 1956, now US. Patent 3,039,934 of Whitman and Eckstrom, there are disclosed hair waving compositions including monoethanol amine and its salts. These compositions, while excellent for the purposes described, are not adapted for use in waving hair as degraded as can be waved by the present invention.

I have found that a Waving lotion comprising as water soluble components a plurality of different diand trilower aikanol amine salts (by lower, I mean having from 2 to 3 carbon atoms) such as triethanolamine salts, one of which is a mercaptan salt, such as a thioglycolate, and

3,240,672 Patented Mar. 15, 1966 the other of which is a non-mercaptan sal-t, such as hydrochloride, a free amine of the type corresponding to one or more of the polyalkanol amines of the type above referred to, and a lower aliphatic polyhydric alcohol having from 2 to 6 carbon atoms effectively meets this problem and may be used full strength on highly bleached hair to obtain a good wave without hair degradation. The lotion may have a pH as low as neutral or slightly, higher, desirably in the range of about pH 7-8.

I am uncertain as to the theoretical reasons for the success of the lotion of the present invention in waving hair that cannot be waved by the lotion of my prior patent application above referred to. It is perhaps of some significance that I have had good success waving bleached hair with lotions embodying my present invention which are not effective in waving normal, unbleached hair.

The diand tri-lower alkanol amines includes triethanolamine, trishydroxymethylamino methane (trimethylolaminomethane), di-, and triisopropanolamine (and also because of its molecular weight, monoisopropanolamine) and other water soluble hydroxyamines of similar molecular weight, of which I prefer triethanolamine.

The mercapto acid anions includes one or more of the thioglycolate, alphamercaptopropionate, and alphamercaptobutyrate ions, of which I prefer the thioglycolate. Other non-carboxylic mercaptans can be used in addition to or substituted for the mercapto acid ions, including thioglycerin and thiosorbitol.

The non-mercapto anions include acid addition salts of such acids as hydrochloric, sulfuric, nitric, carbonic, acetic, citric, tartaric, propionic, succinic, adipic, boric, formic, fumaric, gluconic, phosphoric, iodic, bromic, itaconic, and maleic, of which I prefer hydrochloric.

The polyhydric alcohols include sorbitol, sucrose, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, pentaerythritol, glycerin, and mannitol, of which I prefer sorbitol.

The quantities of the constituents may vary within the following approximate ranges:

Water soluble amine salt of a mercapto acid 0.2 NO.8 N Water soluble amine salt of a non-mercapto acid 0.4 N-1.5 N High molecular weight water soluble free amine 0.1 N0.5 N

Polyhydric alcohol 2.0%7%

My preferred constituents and proportions are thus:

Triethanolamine thioglycolate 0.2 NO.8 N Triethanolamine hydrochloride 0.4 N-1.5 N Triethanolamine 0.1 N0.5 N

70% sorbitol 3%10% To this formula are added the usual wetting agents, emollients, perfumes, colors, opacifiers, water, etc., as is conventional in the art.

Typical compositions which were found to produce effective waves on bleached hair without degradation are listed in the examples which follow:

Triethanolamine thioglycolate 0.35 N Triethanolamine hydrochloride 0.60 N Triethanolamine 0.20 N Sorbo (70% sorbitol) 6.0% Wetting agent(s) q.s. Emollient q.s. Perfume q.s. Water q.s.

Triethanolamine thioglycolate 0.45 N Triethanolamine sulfate 0.85 N Triethanolamine 0.15 N Sorbo (70% sorbitol) 8.5% Wetting agents q.s. Emollients q.s. Perfume q.s. Water q.s.

Diisopropanolamine a-rnercapto-propionate 0.25 N Diisopropanolamine hydrochloride 0.45 N Diisopropanolamine 0.30 N Sorbo (70% sorbitol) 4.5% Wetting agents q.s. Emollients q.s. Perfume q.s. Water q.s.

Triethanolamine thioglycolate 0.40 N Triethanolamine carbonate 0.70 N Triethanolamine 0.25 N Glycerin 6% Wetting agents q.s. Emollients q.s. Perfume q.s. Water q.s.

Triisopropanolamine thioglycolate 0.35 N Triisopropanolamine hydrochloride 0.50N Triisopropanolamine 0.30 N Sorbo (70% sorbitol) 8% Wetting agents q.s. Emollients q.s. Perfume q.s. Water q.s.

Trishydroxymethylaminomethane thioglycolate 0.30 N I Trishydroxymethylaminomethane hydrochloride 0.45 N Triethanolamine 0.35 N

In the use of my novel lotions for waving bleached hair, I have found that I am able safely and effectively to apply to the hair the entire quantity of lotion used, prior to winding the hair on rods. In the attempted uses of prior conventional lotions on bleached hair, the danger of attack to the hair by prolonged exposure to the lotion has led to the expedient of deferring application of the lotion until nearing the end of the time-consuming operation of combing out the individual tresses, winding them on the rods, and wetting with lotion. The procedure frequently has been either to wind the hair wet only with water, followed by application of waving lotion to the wound tress after all the tresses have been wound, or Wetting each tress with the lotion as it is wound and then applying the remainder of the lotion to the tresses after all have been wound. However, this expedient to avoid over-processing encounters the ditfcult problem of proper penetration of the lotion into the wound tress. Bleached hair swells easily, so that the wound tress of bleached hair is difficult, if not impossible, to penetrate uniformly and completely, resulting in lack of uniformity with the danger of over-processing some parts of the tress and underprocessing others. With my novel lotion, on the contrary, all of the lotion can, if desired, be applied to the hair before winding, and in practice I have had success by a two-step procedure of first wetting with my novel lotion a section of hair adequate for about six curls and then wetting each curl again with the lotion as it is being wound. I use all of the lotion in that way and no safeguard against over-processing is needed. The wave is of desired characteristics, with desired uniformity.

I claim:

1. A hair waving lotion comprising, in aqueous solution, from 0.1 N to 0.5 N of a free poly lower alkanol amine selected from the group consisting of diand trilower alkanol amines each alkanol group having 2 to 3 carbon atoms, at least two different salts of lower alkanol amines selected from said group, one of the salts being the salt of a mercapto acid in concentration of from 0.2 N to 0.8 N and another of said salts being in concentration of from 0.4 N to 1.5 N, and from 2.0% to 7% of lower aliphatic polyhydric alcohol having from 2-6 carbon atoms, said lotion having a pH in the range of about 7 to 8.

2. A hair waving lotion comprising, in aqueous solution, from 0.1 N to 0.5 N of a free lower alkanol amine selected from the group consisting of triethanolamine, trishydroxymethylamino methane, di-, and triisopropanolamine, at least two different salts of said amine, one of which, in concentration from 0.2 to 0.8 N is a salt of a mercapto acid, and another which in concentration from 0.4 to 1.5 N is a salt of an acid selected from the group consisting of hydrochloric, sulfuric, nitric, carbonic, acetic, citric, tartaric, propionic, succinic, adipic, boric, formic, fumaric, gluconic, phosphoric, iodic, bromic, itaconic, and maleic and from 2 to 7% of an aliphatic polyhydric alcohol selected from the group consisting of sorbitol, sucrose, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, pentaerythritol, glycerin, and mannitol, said lotion having a pH in the range of about 7 to 8.

3. A lotion as defined in claim 1 in which the said salt of a mercapto acid is triethanolamine thioglycolate, said other salt is triethanolamine hydrochloride, and the said polyhydric alcohol is sorbitol.

4. An aqueous hair waving lotion comprising at least two different salts of lower alkanol amines selected from the group consisting of diand tri-lower alkanol amines having 2 to 3 carbon atoms in each alkanol groups, one of which salts is the salt of thioglycolic acid, said lotion being adjusted to the pH range of from about 7 to 8 with lower alkanol amine selected from said group, and from about 2 to 7% of lower aliphatic polyhydric alcohol having 2 to 6 carbon atoms dissolved in the lotion.

5. An aqueous hair waving lotion comprising at least two different monoisopropanolamine salts, one of which is the acid addition salt of thioglycolic acid, said lotion being adjusted to the pH range of about 7 to 8 with free monoisopropanolamine, and from about 2 to 7% of lower aliphatic polyhydric alcohol having 2 to 6 carbon atoms dissolved in the lotion.

6. A hair waving lotion comprising a reducing compound of the group consisting of thioglycerin and thiosorbitol, from 0.1 N to 0.5 N of a free poly lower alkanol amine selected from the group consisting of triethanolamine, trishydroxymethylamine methane, and di-, and triisopropanolamine, from 0.4 N to 1.5 N of a water soluble non-mercapto salt of said amine and from about 2% to 7% of a lower aliphatic polyhydric alcohol having 2 to 5 6 6 carbon atoms, said lotion having a pH in the range of 2,719,814 10/1955 Haefele 16787.1 about 7 to 8. 3,039,934 6/1962 Whitman et al 16787.1

7. A hair waving lotion comprising, in aqueous solution from 0.1 N to 0.5 N of monoisopropanolamine, at FOREIGN T least two different salts of monoisopropanolamine, One of 5 810,355 1959 Great Brltaln.

the salts being the salt of a mercapto acid in concentration 339,923 6/ 1960 Great Britainof from 0.2 to 0.8 N and another of said salts being OTHER REFERENCES 1n concentration of from 0.4 N to 1.5 N, and from 2 to 7% S C s d T h I I t of a lower aliphatic alcohol having from 2 to 6 carbon agarm' osme Glance an ec no Ogy, n

atoms, said lotion having a pH in the range of about 7 to 8. 10 z z Publishers New York (1957) pages 608 and References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,708,940 5/1955 De Mytt et a1. 16787.1 X 15 2,719,813 10/1955 Haefele 167-87.1

JULIAN S. LEVITT, Primary Examiner.

FRANK CACCIAPAGLIA, ]R., LEWIS GOTTS,

Examiners. 

1. A HAIR WAVING LOTION COMPRISING, IN AQUEOUS SOLUTION, FROM 0.1 N TO 0.5 N OF A FREE POLY LOWER ALKANOL AMINE SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF DI- AND TRILOWER ALKANOL AMINES EACH ALKANOL GROUP HAVING 2 TO 3 CARBON ATOMS, AT LEAST TWO DIFFERENT SALTS OF LOWER ALKANOL AMINES SELECTED FROM SAID GROUPS, ONE OF THE SALTS BEING THE SALT OF A MERCAPTO ACID IN CONCENTRATION OF FROM 0.2 N TO 0.8 N AND ANOTHER OF SAID SALTS BEING IN CONCENTRATION OF FROM 0.4 N TO 1.5 N, AND FROM 2.0% TO 7% OF LOWER ALIPHATIC POLYHYDRIC ALCOHL HAVING FROM 2-6 CARBON ATOMS, SAID LOTION HAVING A PH IN THE RANGE OF ABOUT 7 TO
 8. 